Industrial production of intermediate food product (I.F.P.) based on fish flesh and packaged I.F.P.S. thus produced

Abstract

The invention relates to the production of hydrated concentrates of myofibrillar proteins from fish flesh which are commonly known as surimi-base or, more generally, intermediate food products (I.F.P.). The inventive production method comprises the following successive steps: (1) initial minced fish flesh is prepared from fish fillets; (2) said initial mince is washed with water until a washed mince is obtained which contains a residual fraction of sarcoplasmic proteins and lipids of between 0.1 and 3% of the weight of the mince; (3) while wet, the washed mince is refined by eliminating a fraction of impurities; (4) the refined mince is mixed until an even emulsion mince is produced; (6) the emulsified mince is drained so as to produce a densified mince; (7) cryoprotectants are then added to the densified mince in order to form a final freezable mince; (8) the final mince is packed in nutrient plates; and (9) said plates are frozen. In this way, a quality I.F.P is obtained with a significantly increased production yield in relation to the prior art, particularly for fatty fish.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to the field of the food industry and more particularly to the field of the production of surimi-base and other analogous intermediate food products (IFPs) prepared from fish flesh.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART[0002]It is noted that surimi-base is a generic term for a hydrated concentrate of myofibrillar proteins which is obtained from fish flesh that has been minced, washed, strained and centrifuged several times to produce a protein gel used in the manufacture of kamaboko and other derived products.[0003]The traditional process for the manufacture of surimi-base has existed since the 15th century and various improvements have been made to this basic technology, either to improve the production yields or to improve the physical characteristics (gelling strength, whiteness, elasticity, stability) of the product.[0004]Irrespective of the methods described below, the inventors' objective was always to perfect the methods o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a process for producing surimi-base and other intermediate food products from fish, which can be adapted to different types of fish and the desired final quality of the product. The process involves preparing a pulp from minced fish flesh, washing the pulp, and refining it to remove impurities. The refined pulp is then drained and cryoprotectants are added to it to create a stable final product. The process can also include steps to improve the yield of the final product from oily fish. The invention also includes an installation for carrying out the process. The technical effects of the invention include improved production of surimi-base and other intermediate food products from fish, with improved yield from oily fish, and a simplified process for production."

Problems solved by technology

These “white” fish, which are sought not only for the production of surimi-base but also for traditional uses (whole or as fillets, fresh or frozen) and whose exploitable stocks have long renewal dynamics, are very often overexploited and subjected to catch quotas.

These established bioeconomic facts have a significant effect on the costs of accessing the resource, resulting in seasonal speculations that are rather inappropriate for a long-term industrial business strategy.

On the other hand, so-called “oily” fish, such as scad, sardine or mackerel, contain a high proportion of “red” muscles and lipids, making them difficult to use for the production of surimi-base for the reasons referred to above.

Attempts have nevertheless been made to use these “oily” fish in the surimi-base industry because of their abundance, the fast rate of renewal of their exploitable stocks, and their low commercial value.

These successive operations cause significant losses of production yield and consequently result in a low economic viability.

Secondly, and as a general principle, the processes known or proposed hitherto for the manufacture of surimi-base take no account of the specific characteristics of the raw material, namely the fish.

Now, important variations in the biochemical composition of the fish flesh are observed according to the species fished, the fishing season and the method of catching and storing the fish before treatment, and these variations cause fluctuations in the quality of the finished product (surimi-base).

However, these processes of the prior art do not allow a total removal of the connective tissues and the impurities, such as the skin debris, which have to be removed prior to the manufacture of kamaboko, the main reason being that dry refining does not make it possible to strain the pulp with sufficiently small holes without clogging or without the product warming up.

In addition, pressing the pulp causes a significant loss of yield due to a random and imprecise dehydration of the pulp.

Although this third process is applicable to any type of fish, particularly so-called “oily” fish, in that it affords a better purification of the pulp and a better removal of the pro-oxidizing or denaturing agents, it nevertheless has the disadvantage, in common with all the techniques of the prior art, of causing substantial reductions in the production yields in proportion to the number of washing-centrifugation sequences and the degree of refining.

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